Why & How To Plant Flower Bulbs

This post is sponsored by www.flowerbulbs.com

Flower bulbs are beginner and master gardeners’ favorites as they should be since they can be some of the most beautiful, yet easiest plants to add to your garden. They are easy to grow, beneficial to the ecosystem, and super affordable to start. My favorite characteristic is that after planting them once, you have flowers forever!

What are Flower Bulbs?

Bulbs refer to the tubular (in this instance bulb like) root that contain all of the plant’s stored DNA and energy. Once soil temperatures rises, the bulb sends up foliage and blooms while storing energy once again to prepare for dormancy.

Type of Bulbs

Some of your favorite cut flowers grow from flower bulbs. See a list below:

Lillies

Tulips

Daffodils

Ranunculus

Iris

Hyacinth

Amaryllis

Benefits

Attracts pollinators – as typically one of the first signs of spring, flowers mark your garden as reliable food source not only attracting but keeping necessary pollinators in your garden

Beautiful – when planted in groups, the flowers that emerge from these bulbs are a sea of beauty.

Affordable – typically when you purchase these type of flowers already blooming, you pay almost 3x as much the cost of flower bulbs

When & How

It’s essential to plant bulbs in the fall so roots may develop and adapt to their location. Some flower bulbs prefer the “chilling” period during the winter. Exposing bulbs to these cold temperatures stimulates a bio-chemical response that “turns on” flower formation and initiates root growth. Some bulbs don’t necessarily require a chill period, but still benefit from being planted in the fall.

1. Choose a sunny location in your garden that has loose and loomy soil
2. A simple rule of thumb for planting Flower bulbs is to plant bulbs 2-3x deep as they are big. In most instances, 3-5 inches deep and 4-5 inches apart works well.
3. Add a phosphate based fertilizer to encourage root growth
4. Water deep and add at least 1 inch thick layer of mulch
5. Allow bed to rest until spring

Care & Maintenance

Another reason why I love flower bulbs is they are pretty easy to care for after planting. If you’re having a dry season, you can water once a week. Make sure you you dead head spent flowers to encourage more blooming.